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Home > German > Continuers Course > German-speaking Communities > Past and Present > Past and present: sample reading and responding tasks

Type A

Task 1

Question a)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a good understanding of the reaction at school	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the reaction at school	1 mark

Sample answer:
Everyone was excited and shocked. The Principal announced that they could have the day off school to take part in the celebrations.

 

Question b)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a good understanding of the scene	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the scene	1 mark

Sample answer:
There were people of all ages amongst the spectators. There were Trabi cars everywhere, and people were throwing flowers onto them; strangers were hugging each other; many people were crying for joy.

 

Question c)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates an excellent understanding of the indications that things had changed	3 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of the indications that things had changed	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the indications that things had changed	1 mark

Sample answer:
The border officials couldn't check the huge number of cars coming through because there was just too many of them. Only the day before they had been expected to check everyone crossing the border. It was strange to see thousands of East German cars (Trabis) in the main street of West Berlin. At every checkpoint there was singing, dancing and euphoric celebrations.

 

Question d)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates an excellent understanding of why he writes that he will never forget it	3 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of why he writes that he will never forget it	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of why he writes that he will never forget it	1 mark

Sample answer:
Nobody truly believed that the Berlin Wall would be opened after so many years, particularly not without warning. It had seemed like an ordinary day but turned out to be one of the most important days in German history.

The atmosphere everywhere was charged with emotion and nothing happened the way it normally did. The dream of so many people had become a reality, and people of all ages were celebrating across the city. Michael didn't get home until after midnight, exhausted but excited. That is why he would never forget this day.

 

Total: 10 marks

Task 2

Question a)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a good understanding of the writer's motivation	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the writer's motivation	1 mark

Sample answer:
There is a growing trend that one in three marriages ends in divorce. The reporter Liesl Blum visited over forty young couples to examine the reasons behind this trend and the problems women in Germany face.

 

Question b)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates an excellent understanding of Hanni's daily routine	3 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of Hanni's daily routine	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of Hanni's daily routine	1 mark

Sample answer:
After the children go to kindergarten, she goes to have coffee and chat with other women. When the children come home from school and on weekends, the family watch TV, play games and go on walks together. The evenings are all the same. The evening meal is on the table promptly at seven. The highlight of the week is a Sunday outing with the family.

 

Question c)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of the issues being discussed in the passage with detailed reference to the text	5 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of the issues being discussed in the passage with some reference to the text	3 or 4 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the issues being discussed in the passage	1 or 2 marks

Sample answer:
The first issue is that many dwellings are not child-friendly. The Bischels live in a high-rise with a sign that says that children should not use the lift unaccompanied. The flat is quite small and the children play downstairs in a bare yard.

The next issue is that there are many pressures on marriages, such as unemployment. Hans and Hanni fight constantly, as he does not earn much and has been out of work twice for four months in the last two years.

Many women feel a sense of isolation. There is no longer a sense of community in neighbourhoods where there are high-rises. Even thought the Bischels have lived there for two years, they don't know the neighbours. In order to combat loneliness during the day, Hanni has to go to a women's meeting place, where she has coffee and a chat. The article makes the point that this feeling of isolation is very common: one quarter of women in Munich feel lonely.

She did not work when the children were young, as she wanted to be there for the children but this contributed to the sense of monotony. Now she has a half day job but she felt that it would have been detrimental to the family to have a job earlier. This points to the way that women are torn between working and staying at home with their families.

 

Total:10 marks

Task 3

Question a)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a good understanding of what happened	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of what happened	1 mark

Sample answer:
An island was broken in two by an enormous flood. The city of Rungholt, together with the church and church bells, went under. Over eight thousand people drowned.

 

Question b)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of how his viewpoint is reflected in his writing style with detailed reference to the text	4 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of how his viewpoint is reflected in his writing style with some reference to the text	2 or 3 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of how his viewpoint is reflected in his writing style	1 mark

Sample answer:
Von Liliencron saw the destruction of the city as God's anger at their blasphemy and arrogance. His poor opinion of the inhabitants can be seen through his choice of words to describe them. He introduces us to the city with the words: "the city of Rungholt stood for the certain downfall of all godless people". He says that the city should have been incredibly rich (soll unendlich reich gewesen sein) - leaving an impression that it was the city's own fault that it was not, and that the inhabitants were very proud (stolz) and arrogant (arrogant). In this context, the word stolz is derogatory, as is arrogant. Von Liliencron is building up a picture of a sinful city which disrespected God.

The ultimate blasphemy was when some drunkards tried to force a priest to marry a woman and a pig. The fact that God's representative was being compelled to carry out an unnatural joining is heightened by the use of the words zwingen and kam die Strafe Gotte - "God's punishment". He also uses dramatic language to emphasise how total was God's anger: die Flutkatastrophe spülte den Ort von der Landkarte - it was wiped from the face of the earth! The dramatic language makes the description of what happened almost biblical.

 

Question c)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of the language features used to create effect	5 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of the language features used to create effect	3 or 4 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the language features used to create effect	1or 2 marks

Sample answer:
Through a the use of a variety of language features, the writer presents two points of view about Rungholt. In the opening paragraph he introduces the idea that the story of Rungholt could be truth or myth. He uses the statement manche Leute hören ein Geräusch, accepting it as true that people do hear a noise, even if there's nothing to see, aber weit und breit ist nichts zu sehen.

In the second paragraph, however, he takes a different approach to the history of Rungholt. He explains the sandhills which can be seen at low tide, and the belief by some people that these are the remains of Rungholt. He presents the sinking of the city as fact, using the imperfect tense, and giving the date (1362) and the number of people who drowned (8000). Later he also says that there are remnants of the city to be seen in a museum.

However, immediately after, he asks the rhetorical question Ist das wirklich ein Zufall.... about the fact that no one can locate the city on a map. He then goes on to say that some people think the city never even existed. He is constantly changing the ground under the readers' feet, forcing them to question what they believe.

He then uses an exclamation Aber halt! to change tack again. By posing another rhetorical question, War da nicht eben ein leiser Klang...?, he returns to the possibility that it could be true. He suggests that Rungholt reappears out of the sea every seven years, just as it was and uses mystical language to leave the final decision to the reader: "Whoever has eyes will see, whoever has ears will hear. The rest is the roaring of the waves."

 

Total: 11 marks

Task 4

Question a)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates an excellent understanding of the advantages of having a live pet and a robot pet	3 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of the advantages of having a live pet and a robot pet	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the advantages of having a live pet and a robot pet	1 mark

Sample answer:
Robot pet: you don't have to walk/feed/care for it; it's easy to switch off when you want to do other things.

Live pets: children learn how to treat animals; the animal is always there for them, thinks for itself and doesn't always do what its owner wants; the relationship between children and pets is unique.

 

Question b)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a good understanding of the situations in which robots are useful	2 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the situations in which robots are useful	1 mark

Sample answer:
Robots are useful on production lines and in boring and dangerous jobs in factories because they have the capacity and endurance to do repetitive jobs longer than humans can. They are more precise and can carry out jobs without making errors.

 

Question c)

Marking Criteria
Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of the mood of the passage with appropriate, detailed reference to the text and language techniques	5 marks
Demonstrates a good understanding of the mood of the passage with reference to the text and language techniques	3 or 4 marks
Demonstrates some understanding of the mood of the passage with reference to the text	1 or 2 marks

Sample answer:
The passage begins with a factual tone in the first paragraph, where the writer is explaining the growing trend towards robot animals in households. It lists the circumstances under which it is difficult to own a real pet, and uses the example of Japan to show how lack of space inhibits keeping live pets.

The second paragraph continues in a similar way, outlining the situation in Germany and the advantages of having a computer pet.

However, the mood changes in the third paragraph, when the writer starts to pose a series of questions, such as: "Can robots really replace live pets?" The writer answers his own questions by the end of this paragraph with an unambiguous statement: "The relationship between children and their pets can never be mimicked by a machine."

Abruptly, the virtues of robots in their correct location (e.g. car factory productions lines) are praised but again, the last sentence assigns them to that location only: "In my opinion, robot pets don't belong in the world of humans."

The passage ends with the writer admitting his fear that robots are becoming more and more a part of our every day life. He asks another question and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusion: "Will people soon be replaced by machines?"

Thus, the mood of the passage becomes anxious and insistent. By asking questions which must be answered, the writer forces the reader to consider the situation in today's society.

Total: 10 marks

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